Process of treating petroleum.



M. i. 'IRUMBLE. PHOQESS 0F TREATING PETROLEUM. APPLICATION man on. to. 1910.

1,262,8750 Patented Apr.16,1918.

2 SHEETS-SHEET 1- 1 L53 j] Z] .J. TRUMBLE.

PROCESS OF TREATING PETROLEUM.

APPLICATION FILED OCT. 10, 1910. I

Patented Apr. 16, 1918.

2 SHEETSSHEET 2.

@a Zfy' f z! fm ing chamber.

ran sra'rns PATENT orator.

MILON J. TRUMIBLE, OF LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA, ASSIGNOR TO SIMPLEX REF INING COMPANY, A CORPORATION OF CALIFORNIA.

a PROCESS OF TREATING PETROLEUM.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, MILoN J. TRUMBLE, a citizen of the United States, residing at Los Angeles, in the county of Los Angeles and State of California, have invented a new and useful Process of Treating Petroleum, of which the following is a specification.

This invention relates toa process for the treatment of hydrocarbon oils or petroleum to separate the lighter or more volatile constituents therefrom, the process being particularly intended for so treating the crude oil as to remove and save the gasolene and other light volatile products.

llhe main object of the invention is to provide a process whereby the above described vaporization or separation may be effected in the most rapid, economical andefiicient manner. I

Another object of the invention is to provide a process whereby such separation may be eflected in an apparatus of extremely limited size compared to the apparatus generally used for such purposes.

The process consists essentially in heating the oil in a closed receptacle to a temperature above the boiling point of the lighter constituents of the oil for the pressure at which they are to be vaporized, the oil being maintainedwhile it is being heated at 'such pressure as to prevent vaporization during the heating operation, then allowing the heatedoil to pass into a vaporizing chamber where the lighter constituents of the oil immediately expand and pass into a state of vapor or gas by reason of the temperature thereof being higher than the. boiling point for the ressure in said vaporizing chamber, and withdrawing said vaporized or gasified products from the vaporiz- The process further comprises in the vaporizing operation exposure of the oil in a thin film or layer to the action of a heatedsurfacathereby expediting the separation of the volatile constituents from the heavier constituents and withdrawing the vaporized constituents as fast as they are ess will appear hereinaften.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Apr. 115, i918. Application filed October 10,1910. .Serial No. 586,382. I

The accompanying drawings illustrate an stack or chimney 3. In said heating chamber is provided a heating coil 4, said coil being of sufiicient length and capacity to retain the body of oil therein for a considerable time in heat absorbing relation with the heating chamber. This coil 4 is sup plied with oil at one end thereof by a supply pipe 5 having an inlet valve 6, said supply pipe communicating with regenerating means for heating the oil as it is supplied to the coil by means of heat absorbed from the out-going products of theprocess. At

' the end of the coil 4 which is farthest from the'inlet pipe 5, a drainage pipe 8 is provided having a draw-01f cock 9, the coil 4- inclining continuously from the inlet end to the said farther end, so that anywater separated from the oil'while in said coil collects at said drainage pipe and may be drawn off from time to time. A pipe 10 extends upwardly from the coil near the end which is farthest from the inlet end of the coil, said pipe extending to the top of a vaporizing chamber 11 which is formed in Fig. 1 as a vertical cylinder inclosed within the stack 3, so that the walls of said cylinder are heated by the hot gases passing upwardly' through said stack. A valve 12 is provided in said pipe 10 to hold the oil under pressure-5 in coil 4 and to control the supply of oil ,to the chamber 11, said valve having an operating handle 13. From the lower end of the vaporizing chamber 11 ex- .tends a drainage pipe 15 for residual oil,

said drainage pipe having an outlet valve 16 which is adjusted in posltion to maintain a body of oil in the drainage pipe 15 and in the lower part'of the vaporizing chamber 11, as shown in Fig. 1, so as to form a liquid seal at the bottom of said chamber and prevent outflow of vapor therefrom, except through the vapor outlets and vapor line, as hereinafter set forth. For showing the level of the oil in the vaporizing chamber pet-cocks 17 may be provided on a vertical pipe 17 connected near its upper and lower ends by pipes 18 to the vaporizing chamber 11.

Valve outlet. means are provided at distributing points or heights in the vaporizing chamber 11 to take off the vapor as fast as it is liberated and deliver it to the vapor line indicated at 20, the end of said vapor line extending vertically alongside the stack and having a plurality oftubes 21 extending therefrom into the vaporizing chamberv 11 and communicating at their inner ends With a vertical pipe or chamber 22, having a series or plurality of perforated portions 23 for passage of the vapor into said chamber 22 from the chamber 11. At the top of the pipe or chamber 22 is provided a coneshaped spreader 25, the apex of which is located directly beneath the outlet of the supply pipe 10 and the rim of which extends close to the wall of the vaporizing chamber 11, so as to spread the oil issuing from the pipe 10 over the walls of the chamber in a thin film. Directly beneath the connection for each of the. vapor outlet pipes 21 to the vertical chamber 22, a skirt or obliquely downward extending flange 26 is provided on said pipe 22 whose rim extends in proximity to the wall of the chamber 11 to cause any unvapori-zed oil flowing on said skirt to be deflected outwardly and brought in contact with the outer wall of the vaporizing chamber in a thin film. The perforations 23 in the vertical chamber 22 which provide for efiiux of vapor from the chamber 11 are located directly beneath and within the respective conical spreading means 25 and 26, and the said vertical chamber or pipe 22 is open at the bottom so that the vapor generated in the chamber 11 may pass into the pipe 22 at the bottom thereof and through all ofthe perforations 23 therein, the vapor being thereby removed from the oil as rapidly as it is generated. The vapor line 20 leads through condensing means which also form part of the regenerative system for supplying heat to the incoming oil, said line 20 extending through a jacket tube 28, the oil being supplied under pressure at one end of said tube by a pipe 29 into which the oil is pumped by a pump 30, the other end of said jacket tube 28 being connected by a pipe 31 to one end of a tube 32 surroundingthe residual outlet pipe 15, the further end of said jacket tube 32 being connected'to the the form of vapor or gas.

t eatre oil supply pipe 5 for the heating coil 4. Valves 34:, 35 may be provided respectively in the vapor the condensate. I

The process is carried out as follows in the above described apparatus The valve 12 chamber 1 to supply the required amount of heat to said coil in the continuous passage of the oil from one end of the coil to the other to vaporize the product desired to be taken off. The said oil has a slow movement and line and in the delivery line for a continual increaseof temperature from the inlet to the delivery point. In this heating of the oil a portion of the water is released or separated therefrom, if such is held in suspension in the oil, and tends to settle in the lower end of thecoil, being drawn off when required through the valve 9. The heated oil passes upwardly through pipe 10 and valve 12 and in passing into the vaporizing chamber 11 is subject to a sudden expansion byreason of the lower pressure in said chamber and in this expansion the lighter constituents of the oil,-namely, gasolene, kerosene, etc., are suddenly passed into As the oil falls onto the successive conical members or spreaders 25 and 26, it is directed thereby into contact with heated Walls of the chamber 11, the heat supplied through said walls maintaining the temperature sufficient to cause such lighter products to be boiled 0r evaporated from the oil and the oil being maintained in a thin layer or film on said walls, so as to present a maximum surface for evaporation and facilitate the immediate release of the vapor or gas from the liquid. As fast as such vapor or gas is formed it is withdrawn or passes out through the perforations 23, outlet pipes 21 and 'vapor line 20 to the condenser pipe 27. The process may be carried outin any apparatus adapted to provide for heating of the oil under pressure and then subjecting it to sudden expansion on lowering the pressure, so as to cause Sudden release of the lighter products therefrom in the state of gas or vapor. 7

Thus, Fig. 2 shows another form of vaporizing chamber which may be used, said vaporizing chamber consisting of an inverted conical chamber 36 in the stack 3, said chamber having an outlet 37 at its lower end for residuum oil and provided at its upper 'vided with a end with spreaders 38 and a supply pipe 39 having perforations 40 and a controlling valve 41', vapor outlet pipes 42 being provided at diflerentheights within the vaporizing chamber 36 and connected to the vapor line 43.

Fig. 3 shows another form of vaporizing chamber which may be used consisting of a box or casing 46 having an inclined wall 46 on which the oil descends in a thin layer from a spreader plate 47, the oil being supplied to said plate by a supply pipe 48 provalve 49. A residuum outlet pipe 50 is provided at the lower end of said casing 46 and vapor outlet pipes 51 are provided at different heights in said casing connected to the vapor line 52. I

In Fig. 4, the vaporizing chamber is shown as a semi-cylindrical vessel 54 stored within a combustion chamber 55 and having an oil supply pipe 56 at each side, said pipes being perforated as at 56 to allow the oil to run down the inclined wall at each side of said vessel 54. and a vapor outlet 58 being provided at the top of said vessel. 59 is a valve controlling the supply of oil and 60 is an outlet for the residuum.

In each of the expanding chambers shown, provision is made for causing the oil to run in a thin layer or film on a heating surface, the said surface in Fig. 1 being the walls of the vertical chamber 11 and the said surfaces in Figs. 2,

3 and 4.- being the inclined walls of the respective vaporizing chambers therein shown.

What I claim is:

1. The process of separating hydro-carbon vapors from a mixture of hydro-carbons, which consists in heating the mixture under pressure at a temperature sufficient to cause vaporization of the lighter constituents at atmospheric pressure, releasing the pressure to cause vaporization of the lighter hydrocarbons, and simultaneously spreading the unvaporized portions of the mixture in a thin film and permitting the vapors to read ily escape.

2. The process of separating hydro-carbon vapors from a mixture of hydro-carbons, which consists in heating the mixture under pressure to a temperature sufiicient to vaporize the lighter constituents at atmospheric pressure, releasing the pressure so that hydro-carbon vapors can be readily given off simultaneously with said release, spreading the unvaporized portions in a thin film, and simultaneously applying heat to said film to supply the latent heat absorbed by said vapors. p

In testimony whereof, I have hereunto set my hand at Los Angeles, California, this 3rd day of October, 1910.

MILON J. TRUMBLE. In presence of- F. M. TOWNSEND, FRANK L. A. GRAHAM. 

